KINGSLAYER

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Act 3 Chapter 106
JAYLAH

When Jaylah looked in the looking glass at herself, for once she did not like what she saw. The deep set of her eyes, which she normally liked about her face, now just looked sunken. Her inability to find sleep in the past two nights only enhanced her natural dark circles, russet colored against her tawny skin.

She could not afford to appear fragile or worn. She needed to be impeccable.

And as she stared for so long she no longer appeared as a real person in the reflection, Jaylah realized that something within her resolve had shifted. For the past two days, she had only been half-present, the world passing in a slow moving blur around her. Now she was awake. And she did not feel like tolerating things that did not serve her.

"I believe I am in need of a change today," she told Saria as she took in the canisters upon canisters of exotic cosmetics splayed out before her. "Something bolder than usual."

Saria's face broke into a smile, enhancing the lines beside her eyes. "I have been waiting a great while for you to say that. Follow me, and we will see what suits your fantasy."

Within her massive closet, Jaylah looked over Saria's shoulder to search through the garments for the first thing that caught her eye. It occurred to her how many of them were light in color, how her recent wardrobe had consisted of high-necked gowns that reached past her ankles. Ones modeled after what her mother had worn. The safe options.

Today, she would do what she wanted. So she chose a pair of black trousers paired with a white shirt that complimented her chest a bit, but retained regality with its lighter-than-air sleeves and high collar. Saria pulled a gold-linked belt handcrafted in Ition tight enough to accentuate the curve of Jaylah's waistline. Her mother would not dare give the court the option of saying she was lascivious in the slightest. Ermalai's words flashed through her mind as she looked down at herself. Do not give them more of a reason to call you a whore. It nearly made her double back and change her outfit.

She blinked a few times to rid herself of doubt. Ermalai was a man who mistakenly thought a whore was the worst thing to be, so he only sought to wound her in any way possible. He would never get the satisfaction of her pain.

When she sat down before the vanity, she kept her eyes closed the entire time, even after Saria was finished dusting feather light touches of kohl over her lashes. "Finished," Saria said, putting her tools away. Jaylah squinted her eyes open.

Her lips, painted the same all-consuming black as her pants, pulled up. The shape of them made the white of her smile more cutting than ever. The slashes of kohl over her eyelids were lethal. She looked grand and dramatic. Finally beautiful not in a passive manner, but in one that demanded something of the viewer—veneration, envy, fear.

"Excellent work, as always, Saria," Jaylah said as she admired herself. She could not seem to tear her eyes away. The way Saria always knew what she wanted with minimal explanation was outstanding. Now she felt truly formidable, inside and out.

Her subjects saw it too, for there had been many double takes and lingering glances on her in her first few activities of the day. She soaked it all in, holding her chin high even as her face felt pulled free of her bones with the tightness of her upswept braids. Even as Ermalai sidled up to her in passing between meetings, as she figured was inevitable.

She gave an internal sigh, already knowing he wanted something from her. What could it be, if not for her humiliation? She had been dutifully ignoring Alexander's existence, not even glancing his way to give Ermalai a shred of proof to hold against her.

"My, you look very different today," he remarked, just as expected. "Trying out different styles?"

"Thank you. Yes. I have been receiving compliments all morning."

"Oh." Ermalai's voice trailed off, as if he could not find the words to say what he wanted to say next. "It could be a compliment, I suppose, if your goal was to appear like a villain from a fairy story." His eyes honed in on her lips with thinly veiled distaste. "Or like a witch from the eastern highlands. I hear they have unnaturally dark lips due to the black blood in their veins."

She felt that familiar desire to shrink. "Ah." There was nothing more to say.

"I mean—" He paused. "Really, if I may comment on—"

"You may not." Without thought, the words slid from Jaylah's lips like oil. Like a witch's black blood. "Do not ever believe I want your unsolicited opinion."

She had half a mind to immediately slap her hand over her mouth, to apologize and blame her lack of sleep at once. But Ermalai's open-mouthed expression made her submission slide into oblivion. She brushed right past him, smiling to herself. He looked like a trout.

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When she dismounted Thyros, Jaylah felt the glaring absence of anyone at her side.

It was more perceived than real; she always had accompanying escorts wherever she went. But those soldiers were all just blurs of flesh dressed in silver. They did not know her. If any of them did want to get near to her, it was only to use her as a tool.

No different than usual, then.

There was only one pair of footsteps that walked up to Vaso Fotelis's cliffside home. He answered the door before she could knock, and his eyes glanced away after landing on her. "No Miss Lykaios?" He was looking over her shoulder as if Jaylah had hidden her as a joke.

Jaylah had hidden her. Just not alive.

"Miss Lykaios was called south due to a sudden family emergency." The lie was well-practiced. "Unfortunately, I believe she will not be with us for a long while."

"Ah." Fotelis tried to hide it, but disappointment slackened his features. "I am sorry to hear that."

"Yes. It is very unfortunate." Jaylah held his gaze as he stepped aside, permitting her through.